The rustic charm

Dudes from Jat land are sweating it out for B'wood, little realising that it?s not just brawn that matters, writes Anupam Thapa.

Rippling muscles, great height, V-physique, face cuts a la Italia exotica-- isn’t that all you need for the ramp?

Not quite, especially for the big number of young boys from the Jat land who stream into the Capital hoping to make it big in modelling and then hopping on to Bollywood. It’s the success of some of their Jat bros like Randeep Hooda, Mohit Ahlawat and Virender Bhooker that has prompted young Jat boys to head to Mumbai via Del hi.

No wonder, a typical CV of an aspirant reads like this: “I want to do a role like Manoj Bajpai in Shool.” The cost of struggle Chasing success, these vill age lads spend huge sums of money on gyms, portfolios and grooming. Says Ajay Pal, a Jat model from Nagaur, Rajasthan, “I spend almost eight grand every month on my grooming.

But with so many aspiring models in the city, it’s a tough life.” Though Ajay is a student, it’s easy for him to fork out that kind of money as he hails from a well-to-do family. The right planning And there are others who plan it right.

Like Nishant Dahiya, first runner-up at Grasim India 2006, who chucked his plush job with Wipro to become a model. He says, “I always wanted to be a model.

But I wanted to start from the right platform so I never tried it before participating in this contest. After the launch pad, work started pouring.”

However, that’s not quite the scene for other youngsters. Even after struggling so hard, they fail to make a mark. The reality is that while they come riding high on appreciation from their friends and family, it is oodles of sophistication that they need to click and that’s precisely what they don’t have -— fairly explicable considering that they lack good education and proper grooming.

Raw material Says Nishant, “Most of the aspirants don’t have the finesse. Their friends compare them with Bollywood heroes and all they do is splash money on building brawn. It’s sad that many of these struggling models even do a free shoot to add to their CVs.”

Top fashion photographer Tarun Khiwal feels, “Jat boys are really good and some of our best models are from this community. Quite a few look like Italians. All they need is training.” Well, it’s not just about dreaming big, but planning them right.